Maths Fun Key Stage 3

Maths Fun Key Stage 3 is a bundle of games and puzzles to help pre-teens and teens to develop maths knowledge alongside logic and reasoning skills (underpin the maths curriculum).

Interlox by Brainwright is a logic puzzle with 56 challenges. Interlock the blocks! Twelve grooved pieces spin and slide together in countless colorful configurations. Pick a challenge, gather the pieces, then twist and join them together to build the featured 3D shape. Combine them correctly and you’ve found the key to interlox!  Age 10 years – adult.

Educational Benefits:

• develop logic and reasoning skills
• develop an understanding of geometry
• develop fine motor skills
• develop spatial awareness
• develop problem solving skills

My husband (with 2 science degrees) enjoyed testing this puzzle. The puzzles get progressively harder!

Q Bitz by Mindware is a game that helps children learn about symmetry and fractions. Children also practise and develop visual perception, visual discrimination and visual memory skills. Players puzzle over how to recreate the patterns on the game cards using their set of 16 cubes. Round 1 – race to recreate the pattern shown on the card using your set of cubes, rotating the cubes in anyway. Be the first player to complete the pattern and you win the card! Round 2 – roll all the cubes on the table like dice and use as many cubes as possible to recreate the pattern shown on the card. Race to re-roll all remaining cubes to complete the pattern. Be the first player to complete the pattern and you win the card! Round 3 – players have 10 seconds to study the card. Then the race is on to see who can recreate the pattern from memory. If you have your cubes in the correct pattern, or the most cubes in the correct place, you win the card! 2 – 4 players. Ages 8 to adult (can be adapted for younger children to play, particularly as a single player).

Educational Benefits:

• learn about symmetry
• develop an understanding of fractions
• develop spatial reasoning
• develop visual memory
• develop visual perception and visual discrimination

Contents:  80 Q Bitz cards, 4 wooden trays and 4 sets of 16 cubes. 2 to 4 players.

Q Bitz by Mindware is a great game that can easily be adapted to suit a childs needs and ability. For example by playing as a single player rather than competing or by concentrating on one of the suggested rounds. A single player can enjoy playing with a single tray and set of cubes. Recently one mum said to me that she would keep a set in her bag for her child to play with anywhere!

Happy City by Cocktail Games is a strategy game that can be played at 2 levels of difficulty. Build your little city, card by card, managing your income to make people want to live there and make them happy. Choose each building carefully and keep an eye on your opponents! Find the right balance to create a home where the heart is. Players 2 -5. Age 10 years -adult.

How to play: A round consists of two phases:

• Income phase – all players receive money from the bank. The sum of income symbols found at the bottom of the cards in their city (for the 1^st round every player gets one coin each).
• Action phase – in this phase, players take a number of different actions including: discarding cards; purchasing dwellings cards; and winning special buildings cards – once their city has met certain conditions dictated by their cards. All actions are played with the aim to build the most profitable city with the most inhabitants to get the most points.

The game ends as soon as a player puts down their 10^th city card. The round is completed by any remaining players in the turn.

Players calculate their points by counting how many inhabitants and hearts they have – then these two numbers are multiplied together.

The player with the most (happy) points wins! 2 ways to play :  for families or for experts with more interaction and strategy!

Contents: 30 coins; 140 cards. Dimensions of box – 18 × 12 × 4 cm

Educational Benefits:

• develop proficiency in mental maths – addition and multiplication
• develop strategic thinking
• develop social skills